Devolver Digital has once again delivered on very promising upcoming indie games set to release over the next couple of years, one example among them being The Plucky Squire. With a trailer opening on a children's storybook with charming, cartoony art, it looked set to be another stylistic indie game from Devolver Digital about a hero named Jot and his adventures across the pages of the book.
However, the game's announcement quickly caught people's attention when Jot's story literally leaped off the page, suddenly transforming from 2D to 3D and immediately endearing itself to audiences. The Plucky Squire seems to instead be delivering a multimedia experience across various styles of gameplay, with inspiration and tributes drawn from fellow classic gaming titles such as Punch-Out!! and Link's Awakening.
The Plucky Squire's Announcement
In the absence of an E3 for yet another year, fans turned to Summer Game Fest to get their fix of what to look forward to from the gaming scene. It was a comprehensive, comedy-filled Devolver Digital Showcase that presented the publisher's next upcoming indie titles from Cult of the Lamb to Skate Story, promising an exciting look ahead for what it has in the works from both current and new developers. Among these titles was of course The Plucky Squire, an already interesting entry to the scene given that the studio called All Possible Future behind was created by ex-Game Freak developer James Turner.
The Plucky Squire seems to be using its multimedia premise as a basis to deliver on all fronts, whether it's channeling a Zelda-inspired game style both 2D and 3D with the help of the charming toy-esque aesthetic of the Link's Awakening remake, or becoming reminiscent of 2021's hit co-op title It Takes Two as Jot explores the world beyond the storybook. There seem to be some very intriguing and creative concepts at play in the game, with Jot seemingly capable of not just exiting and entering the storybook he started life in, but also jumping onto other objects such as mugs and tins with even more experimentation in gameplay.
In one example, Jot appears to be duking it out with a bear, playing the equivalent of Punch-Out!! within the pages of the storybook, but later in the trailer another example is Jot becoming less the titular squire and more the commando as he shoots down enemies as if it were a level in Gradius. Clearly, All Possible Future's debut game is doing its best to live up to the namesake of "all possible", as The Plucky Squire is gearing itself up to deliver a vast, all-encompassing gaming experience where there might just be a little something for everyone. Whether this might overstretch the scope of the game and deliver too much or if the studio can strike the right balance will remain to be seen.
Not much is known besides the gameplay that was featured in the showcase, with a quaint narration akin to The Stanley Parable that may well be featured in the game itself to help guide the player. The Plucky Squire could also be aiming for a metafictional story to suit a game across multiple media forms, but on the whole, it's just too early to say for sure. No matter what, however, The Plucky Squire has already captured the hearts of many and looks like it will be a game to watch out for when it releases in 2023. Until then, fans should take a look at Devolver Digital's other upcoming titles to tide them over.
The Plucky Squire is set to be released in 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S.
